Americans split on Trump’s immigration policy, less worried about national security

President Trump made his case for funding for a wall on the southern border in a televised address on Tuesday evening, but the American public’s feelings about immigration are far more complicated.

Speaking directly to the American people, the president said, “I’ve met with dozens of families whose loved ones were stolen by illegal immigration. I’ve held the hands of the weeping mothers and embraced the grief-stricken fathers. So sad. So terrible. I will never forget the pain in their eyes, the tremble in their voices, and the sadness gripping their souls. How much more American blood must we shed before Congress does its job?”

More than half of U.S. adults said they disapproved of Trump’s actions on immigration in a recent survey.

He added, “To those who refuse to compromise in the name of border security, I would ask, imagine if it was your child, your husband, or your wife whose life was so cruelly shattered and totally broken. To every member of Congress: pass a bill that ends this crisis. To every citizen, call Congress, and tell them to finally, after all of these decades, secure our border.”

That last statement begs the question: How do the American people feel about immigration and, specifically, national security?

According to a survey released at the end of 2018 by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, people said they are less concerned about terrorism than they were one year earlier: 37% of respondents said they are worried about continued terrorism threats, down from 40% the previous year. In fact, 50% were more concerned about the country’s political environment, up from 45% who felt the same way in 2017. That was the only concern that increased in the 2018 poll.

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Americans appear to be more divided over the more complex issue of immigration and, in particular, Trump’s own immigration policies. More than half (52%) of U.S. adults said they disapproved of Trump’s actions on immigration, according to another December poll released by PBS NewsHour, NPR and Marist. Some 44% of survey respondents said they approved of President Trump’s stance and policies in relation to immigration, while 4% said they were unsure.

Fewer people are worried about terrorist threats than a year ago, a New Year’s survey by Allianz Life suggests.

Opinion is divided along political lines: 91% Republican respondents said they supported Trump’s stance on immigration, versus 42% of Independents and 14% of Democrats. “The rhetoric leaves a growing number of Americans who have real questions about immigration with no place to go,” Ali Noorani, executive director for the National Immigration Forum, told PBS Newshour last month. Views on immigration even among members of political parties appear more complex when the questions are more nuanced.

A separate NPR/Ipsos poll conducted last July said most Americans (69%) believe immigrants are an important part of American identity, including 81% of Democrats, 56% of Republicans and 71% of Independents. There were also differences among broadcast and cable news viewers. Some 52% of Fox News viewers, 78% of CNN viewers and 73% of NBC

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According to that July 2018 poll, however, 1 in 4 Americans also said that immigration is one of the most worrying issues facing Americans, an increase of 7 percentage points from February 2018. This concern was mostly driven by Democrats (whose worries about immigration rose from 10% to 20%) and Independents (up from 13% to 25%). Perhaps surprisingly given the president’s GOP base, Republican concerns around immigration remained steady over that period at 34%.

According to Allianz Life, Americans are optimistic about their finances

People’s feelings about immigration and their own finances are often connected, experts say. The stock market has been on a rollercoaster ride, spooking and confusing investors. Political tensions with China are fragile and unpredictable. There’s growing concerns among business leaders of a recession in 2019. And yet Americans say they feel better about key aspects of their lives than they did a year ago, according to last month’s Allianz Life survey.

People’s feelings about jobs, immigration and their own finances are often connected, political experts say.

“Many people seem to be more positive about their personal financial situation, with millennials in particular displaying a curious resistance to financial despondency,” said Paul Kelash, vice president of Consumer Insights, Allianz Life. “The only warning might be to ensure personal optimism doesn’t lead to unnecessary spending that can derail a financial plan.” (He has cause for concern: Revolving credit, which includes credit-card debt, recently exceeded $1 trillion.)

There are also signs that young people, in particular, will continue spending in 2019. Despite reporting better financial habits, the latest report noted “some concerning trends.” Only 50% of people listed money management as a New Year’s resolution they’re most likely to keep, down from 60% last year. What’s more, the desire to better manage their money and put more money aside for a rainy day dropped for all respondents to 37% this year from 42% in 2017.

• In the face of volatile markets and increased concern of a recession in 2019, 19% were concerned about markets versus 38% the previous year.

• 23% of people surveyed say they’re concerned about stagnant wages, but that’s down 7 percentage points from 30% in 2017.

• People cited job security as a top concern (18%), but that percentage is also significantly reduced from 26% in 2017.

• 49% of Americans say they will choose health and wellness as their top priority for 2019 versus 27% who chose financial stability.

As for savings, the overall picture is not as healthy as it may seem for Americans. The median U.S. household currently holds just $11,700 in savings, according to an analysis released last August of Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data by personal-finance site Magnify Money. The bottom 20% by income have no savings and the second lowest 20% income earners have $26,450 saved. (Median balances, the midpoint value, are lower than the average savings rates.)

People may have reason to care less about the recent stock-market volatility, but perhaps for all the wrong reasons. Just over half of Americans own stocks, a Gallup report recently concluded. That includes 401(k) plans, shares in an equity mutual fund and/or an IRA account. Worse, two-thirds of Americans do not even participate in or have access to a 401(k) plan, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In other words, they simply don’t have a vested interest.

(This story was updated on Jan. 10, 2019.)

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Quentin Fottrell is MarketWatch’s personal-finance editor and The Moneyist columnist for MarketWatch. You can follow him on Twitter @quantanamo.